VANCOUVER/BEIJING—The daughter of Huawei’s founder, a top executive at the Chinese technology giant, was arrested in Canada and faces extradition to the United States, roiling global stock markets as it threatened to inflame Sino-U.S. trade tensions afresh.
The shock arrest of Meng Wanzhou, 46, who is Huawei Technologies Co Ltd’s chief financial officer, could have repercussions for the 90-day truce on trade struck between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Dec. 1—the day she was detained.
Her arrest, revealed late on Wednesday by Canadian authorities, is related to U.S. sanctions, a person familiar with the matter said. Reuters was unable to determine the precise nature of the possible violations.
Sources told Reuters in April that U.S. authorities have been investigating Huawei, the world’s largest telecoms equipment maker, since at least 2016 for allegedly shipping U.S.-origin products to Iran and other countries in violation of U.S. export and sanctions laws.
The arrest and any potential sanctions on the world’s second biggest smartphone maker could have major repercussions on the global technology supply chain.
U.S. stock futures and Asian shares tumbled as news of the arrest heightened the sense a major collision was brewing between the world’s two largest economic powers, not just over tariffs but also over technological hegemony.
Huawei is not listed, but China’s second-largest telecom equipment maker, ZTE Corp, sank nearly 6 percent in Hong Kong while most of the nearby national bourses lost at least 2 percent.
MSCI’s benchmark for global stocks declined 0.61 percent, and U.S. markets were on track to open lower by 1 percent or more. Investors stampeded for the safety of government debt, pushing the yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note back below 2.9 percent to its lowest level in three months.
Huawei is already under intense scrutiny from U.S. and other western governments about its ties to the Chinese regime, driven by concerns it could be used by the state for spying. It has been locked out of the United States and some other markets for telecom gear.
Meng, one of the vice chairs on the company’s board and the daughter of company founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested on Dec. 1 at the request of U.S. authorities and a court hearing has been set for Friday, a Canadian Justice Department spokesman said. Trump and Xi had dined in Argentina on Dec. 1 at the G20 summit.
Huawei, which generated $93 billion in revenue last year, confirmed the arrest in a statement. “The company has been provided very little information regarding the charges and is not aware of any wrongdoing by Ms. Meng,” it said.
She was detained when she was transferring flights in Canada, it added.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a daily briefing on Thursday that China had asked Canada and the United States for an explanation of Meng’s arrest.
The Chinese consulate in Vancouver has been providing her assistance, he added, declining further comment. On Wednesday, China’s embassy in Canada said it opposed the arrest and called for her immediate release.
In April, the sources told Reuters the U.S. Justice Department probe was being handled by the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn.
Implications for US-China Relations
While Meng’s arrest comes at a delicate time in U.S.-China relations, it was not clear if the timing was coincidental.The probe of Huawei is similar to one that threatened the survival of China’s ZTE Corp, which pleaded guilty in 2017 to violating U.S. laws that restrict the sale of American-made technology to Iran.
Earlier this year, the United States banned American firms from selling parts and software to ZTE, which then paid $1 billion this summer as part of a deal to get the ban lifted.
Hong Kong Connection
In January 2013, Reuters reported that Hong Kong-based Skycom Tech Co Ltd, which attempted to sell embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran’s largest mobile-phone operator, had much closer ties to Huawei than previously known.Meng, who also has used the English names Cathy and Sabrina, served on the board of Skycom between February 2008 and April 2009, according to Skycom records filed with Hong Kong’s Companies Registry.
Several other past and present Skycom directors appear to have connections to Huawei.
Meng’s arrest drew a quick reaction in Washington.
U.S. Senator Ben Sasse praised the move and said that it was “for breaking U.S. sanctions against Iran.” He added: “Sometimes Chinese aggression is explicitly state-sponsored and sometimes it’s laundered through many of Beijing’s so-called ‘private’ sector entities.”
